Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your Social Studies mini spark recording page:
4. Share your social studies mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.
All posts by lspady
#13: BOTB Reading Goals
The Battle of the Books is a quiz-bowl competition where students work on teams to read books from this year’s list.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #13: BOTB Reading Goals
2. Check out the reading lists for elementary and middle school. If the list has not been updated, email your EY teacher so they can be changed.
3. How many books do you want to read this year? Add a list of the book titles that you are going to read to your recording sheet.
4. Everytime you finish a book, add a picture of the book to your recording sheet.
5. When you meet your goal, share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Check out the BOTB badges at the EY Website
#12: Factors & 276
This math mini spark will do a little bit of review on how to find factors and will take you on a journey to find out why the number 276 is amazing!
Spark your math thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #12: Factors & 276
2. Watch this short reminder video on the factor pairs. Take notes on your recording page showing the factor pair rainbow for 100.
3. Watch this Numberphile Video that takes proper factors and does some pretty amazing math. A proper factor of a number is any factor of the number except the number itself. Make a mini math dictionary on your recording page with at least 10 of the math terms from this video
4. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Who is Siri and Where Does She Live?
Siri, who let the dogs out?
At one point, my boys couldn’t get enough of Siri’s response to this question. “Who, who, who, who?” she would reply and there would be laughter and begging to do it again and again. At the time, Toby was 3 and he wanted to know all about Siri and where she was. The conversation went something like this…
Toby: Mom, who is Siri?
Me: She helps answer questions that people have.
Toby: Have you ever met her?
Me: No, she’s not real.
Toby: Where does she live?
Me: Well, according to Siri, she lives right here in my phone.
The boys remembered that question a few days ago and asked Siri again, “Who let the dogs out?” Her reply this time? “Due to unforseen circumstances, that witticism has been retired.”
This morning, I got a notification that I had a new follower on Twitter…Susan Bennett (@SiriouslySusan) is a voice-over artist and singer. She is also known as the voice of Siri. Whaaat!?
Me: Hey boys! Guess who just followed me on Twitter? Siri!
Trea: (my 8-yr-old comedian) Mom, did you know Siri is a spider?
Me: Huh?
Trea: She lives on the web!
Oh the joys of raising kids in this ever changing technological world! My boys will never know what the world was like pre-Siri. What else will they never know existed?
#3: Exploring the Ocean
Alvin is a special underwater vehicle that lets scientists dive deep into the ocean to explore amazing things! It helps them check out weird creatures living in super tough places, see volcanic eruptions underwater, and discover all sorts of cool stuff in the deep blue sea. It’s like a submarine for scientists, and it goes on exciting adventures beneath the waves!
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your Social Studies mini spark recording page: #3: Exploring the Ocean
2. Read this book all about ALVIN and deep sea diving. Make a mini dictionary with interesting terms. Record the definition of each of the words you pick. Include at least 10 words in your dictionary.
3. Watch this video about Alvin. Choose 5 of the questions to answer. Remind your teacher that the answer key is in the Social Studies mini sparks folder.
- What year was the submersible Alvin first commissioned and what was its purpose?
- Who was the scientist that led the push to build the Alvin submersible?
- Describe one of the significant discoveries made by Alvin in the late 1970s.
- How did Alvin change our understanding of life on Earth and other ocean worlds?
- In what way did Alvin capture the world’s attention after the Titanic was found?
- What upgrades were made to Alvin that increased its dive depth capability?
- How has Alvin contributed to the field of deep sea research over the years?
- Discuss the importance of deep submergence technologies that have flourished due to Alvin.
4. Share your social studies mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.
#12: Evaluating Writing
Do you love to write? Do you want to improve your writing? Learning to be a writer takes practice. This mini spark will give you a took to use to think about what makes a writing piece exceptional.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #12: Evaluating Writing
2. One thing you can do to help you become a better writer is to evaluate, or critique, another person’s writing. This website has a large collection of student writing pieces. Scroll through the list to find the grade level that fits you and then choose the type of writing you want to use for this mini spark. Record these two items on your recording sheet.
3. Choose a piece of writing to read and evaluate. Read it one time. Add a 3 sentence summary of what you read to your recording sheet.
4. Print this rubric as a guide to help you critique the writing piece you chose. Read it over carefully. On your recording sheet write a sentence about what will be easy to do when evaluating writing and one about what might be harder.
5. On your recording sheet, respond with the following:
- The title of the piece you chose to evaluate
- The rating (1-4) for Linguistic Complexity and a brief explanation for the rating
- The rating (1-4) for Vocabulary Usage and a brief explanation for the rating
- The rating (1-4) for Language Control and a brief explanation for the rating
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Early Enrichment #9: Winter Wonderland
Winter is coming! Check out these 5 Fun Facts about winter.
In Nebraska, we get to experience the wonderful world of snow each winter, but can you imagine what it is like for people who have never seen snow before?
Check out this Panda, who has never seen snow before!
If you had a pen pal somewhere who had never seen winter, how would you describe it to them? What would you tell them to give them a clear idea of what the season is like where you live? This week’s Early Enrichment activity is to describe and record winter. Look outside to get ideas or use these questions to help you.
Weather: What is the weather like in the Winter? Is it always like that? What is normal winter weather like?
People in Winter: What kinds of things do people do to help them get through winter?How is this different from what they do at other times of the year?
Animals in the Winter: What kinds of things do other animals do to get through winter?
What did you learn from your study of winter? Do you think you can describe winter better now.
Comment below what you would write about to your pen pal!
#11: Video Game Math Problems
I have 120 minions (btw…minions can fly). Each minion has 50 health. The archer tower does a big damage on the minion. The minion loses 38 health. How much health does the minion have left?
My boys love their video games! Minecraft, Clash of Clans, Where’s My Water…I can’t keep up with all of them. One way I don’t go crazy with all the gaming is that I have them write math story problems that go along with the game. Check out these problems my son Trevor wrote about Clash of Clans: Image taken from https://www.flickr.com/photos/85217387@N04/8638068371
- An army camp can hold 50 spaces. If a giant takes up 5 spaces, how many giants can fit in that army camp?
- I am attacking with 75 barbarians. I place down 40 barbarians. How many barbarians do I have left?
- I have 20 dark elixir. If I attack and gain 90 dark elixir, how much dark elixir do I have now?
- One of my valkyries hit 2 dark elixir drills. One drill had 100 dark elixir and the other had 59. If I already had 1,350 dark elixir, how much do I have now?
- I have 10,000 gold and I spend 2,000 gold on walls. If one wall costs 100 gold, how many walls can I get?
- I have 120 minions (btw…minions can fly). Each minion has 50 health. The archer tower does a big damage on the minion. The minion loses 38 health. How much health does the minion have left?
- I have 30,292 gold. Overnight, somebody attacks me and gains 9,929 gold (that means I lose 9,929 gold). How much gold do I have now?
- I have 1,347 trophies. In the battle, I gain 25 more. How many trophies do I have now?
- When a clan has 1,962 trophies. Round this number to the nearest hundred.
- In my army camp, I can hold 200 spaces. A giant level 4 takes up 6 spaces. I have 2 wallbreakers that each take 2 spaces. How much space do I have left in my army camp?
- A wallbreaker breaks 4 walls at a time. If there are 6 wallbreakers, how many walls will be blown up?
- My clan castle can hold 30 spaces. TiTi, a clan member, donates 5 lv 5 barbarians. They take up 5 spaces in all in my clan castle. How many spaces do I have now?
Spark your math thinking!
- Set up your math mini spark recording page: #11: Video Game Math Problems
- On your recording page, write 12 creative math story problems to go along with a video game that you like to play. Make an answer key for your problems as well.
- On our recording page, write the step by step directions for three of your hardest problems.
- Answer 5 of the Clash of Clans story problems from above. Write the number of the problem, show your math and include your answer.
- Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
#10: Celebrate Math!
Did you know various math topics have special days solely dedicated to it? Learn about some of these holidays in this math mini spark.
Spark your math thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #10: Celebrate Math!
2. What is Pythagorean Theorem Day? To qualify as a Pythagorean Theorem Day, the digits that make up the date must qualify as a pythagorean triple. The next pythagorean triple date will be on July 24, 2025 since 72 + 242 = 252. Do some research and find some other dates that were or will be Pythagorean Theorem Days.
3. Mole Day is celebrated on October 23. Read about mole day and take notes about this day on your recording page. Make sure to define a mole in your notes.
4. The Fibonacci sequence begins like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…. November 23 is celebrated as Fibonacci Day because when the date is written in the mm/dd format (11/23), the digits in the date form a Fibonacci sequence: 1,1,2, 3. Watch this video about this special number pattern. Add notes to your recording page.
5. Pi Day is on March 14. Watch this short video about this day. Add some interesting details from the video to your recording page. Then, go to this site to find out how long until we celebrate pi day again (to the nearest second). Record this on your recording page.
6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
One point away from being gifted…
During my tenure as Teacher Leader for the Excellence in Youth (EY) team at Westside Community Schools, I’ve heard the following comments made by students…
- I was one point away from being in EY
- I’m not smart and that’s why I’m not in EY
- I was absent the day of the test so that’s why I’m not in EY
Let me let you in on a little secret (it’s actually not a secret-we’re trying to let EVERYONE know)…
You don’t have to be in EY to participate in seminars or other
learning opportunities that the EY team sponsors.
Here’s the deal…You don’t have to wait around for anyone to tell you that you’re passionate about something. I’m pretty sure you could list 10 things right now that you’re passionate about or interested in and you don’t need a high IQ or a standardized test score to tell you that you can explore those areas. Let’s just take a look at a couple inventors:
- Les Paul designed a solid-body electric guitar in 1941. Guess what? When he was young, one of his teachers told his mother that he’d never learn music. That didn’t stop Les. He taught himself how to play several instruments and by the time he was a teenager, he was performing with country bands all over the midwest. Les didn’t need a score to tell him what he loved doing. He had a passion and pursued it…it’s as simple as that! Information taken from: http://www.biography.com/people/les-paul-9435046
- Joy Mangano designed the Miracle Mop. I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t check to make sure her IQ was high enough or that her math achievement scores were in the 99th percentile before coming up with her idea. In fact, according to Biography.com, Joy was frustrated with household mopping and came up with a new one (http://www.biography.com/people/joy-mangano). She also came up with several other ideas and eventually sold her company to the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
The EY team has the great pleasure of providing opportunities for all students…regardless of whether or not they are in the EY program. These opportunities are sometimes based on students’ interests or talents (Musician Andy Hackbarth and Job Shadowing-see below). The opportunities are sometimes based on what’s available in our community (Orpheum-see below). In some cases, students and parents suggest ideas (Moon Bot Seminar-see below). Whatever the case may be, the EY Team is open to ideas and we are passionate about getting kids plugged into these opportunities. We want students to explore areas of interest, as well as foster talents that may already exist. We want to open doors for students that they never knew existed. We want to ignite the passion that exists in all students! We want to encourage all students to change the world…regardless of their IQ score.
Cale, a 5th grader from Westbrook has an interest in computers. The EY Team arranged form him to shadow Mr. Sanchez at WHS to get a glimpse of a possible career path in technology. One thing Cale learned…”There’s a lot of parts to a computer and taking them apart and putting them back together takes time.”
Musician Andy Hackbarth (http://www.andyhackbarth.com) came to Westside Middle School a couple weeks ago and worked with a group of aspiring musicians. No IQ or test score required to attend…just a passion for music! Andy talked about the math and science behind music, as well as the literary aspects of writing music. The result was AMAZING! Sixth grader Erin from Loveland said, “This was the best day ever! I wish we could have spent 2 full days with Andy. I learned so much!” Click here for a sample of one group’s song.
Omaha is very lucky to have a variety of organizations that support and expand appreciation for the arts. Omaha Performing Arts is one such organization and through their student matinee program, schools are able to offer opportunities to students who may not have the experience otherwise. Last week, a group of students went to Pedal Punk at the Orpheum. I wish I could have captured the wide-eyes and jaw dropping that took place throughout the performance. It was priceless!
Last week, 22 students from various elementary schools came together for our first ever, Path to Personalization Seminar. The ticket to attend? Just explain something you’d like to work on for an entire day. We had students writing scripts, taking photos, researching 3D printers, sewing, and more! We even had a student design a MoonBot seminar that he is planning to lead during the spring semester. Said by one student, “I just enjoyed working on something I love doing for an entire day…no interruptions!”
There are so many amazing things happening K-12 in our district. It’s a great time to be an educator and an even more exciting time to be a learner! Let’s not exclude students based on their test scores, but rather celebrate and continually look for and provide opportunities for all students to explore their passions.
Please leave a comment and let us know what you’re passionate about. Got any ideas to share? Do you have a suggestion for a seminar? We’re all ears!